Mayor Horrigan Hosts First Meeting of Newly-Formed

Akron, Ohio, July 3, 2017 – Last month, Mayor Dan Horrigan assembled a group of community and business leaders that will advise the City on a transformative new strategic plan for economic development in Akron.

In his State of the City speech this February, Mayor Horrigan said of the Growth Council, “I have come to realize that the strategies that have been in place for the past 30 years are not necessarily those same strategies that will best serve us going forward. The job of the Council will be to break us out of our old habits help us to generate a new strategic vision for securing outside investment and create the environment for new jobs with wages that will allow our residents to support a family. This will not be a strategic review that simply creates a plan to sit on a shelf, but rather a living, breathing process that seeks measureable improvement across the city.”

Mayor Horrigan hosted the initial meeting of the Akron Growth Council on June 29, 2017. During this first organizational session, the group reviewed the Council’s Charter and Objectives and established a process for future planning and engagement.

“I am grateful to the exemplary leaders who have agreed to serve this community as the Akron Growth Council,” Mayor Dan Horrigan said of the newly-formed group. “These distinguished men and women will spend significant time and energy assisting me in developing a strategic path forward to grow Akron’s population base and our job infrastructure.”

“We are at a pivotal and unique juncture in Akron’s history. There are many new faces leading key institutions, and there is a fresh and palpable energy apparent throughout the community. We must harness that energy and ensure that we all row in the same direction. This Growth Council will be a key advisory group in helping me drive the City’s economic development vision,” Mayor Horrigan remarked at the inaugural meeting.

The Akron Growth Council plans to meet periodically over the next several months. A roster of Akron Growth Council members is provided below: